Timeline March 2016

Events in March 2016 11

• 1921 – 2016 Nancy Reagan (1921-2016) Died 6 March 2016, aged 94 Reagan served as First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989 during the presidency of her husband, Ronald Reagan. She was known for her "Just Say No" anti-drug campaign and her influence over White House staffing and scheduling. She remained a prominent figure in Republican politics after leaving the White House.
• 1947 – 2016 Johan Cruyff Total Football Architect Revolutionized the sport as the star of the Dutch "Total Football" era and a 3-time Ballon d'Or winner.
• 1969 – 2016 Rob Ford (1969-2016) Died 22 March 2016, aged 46 Ford served as Mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014, drawing international attention after admitting to smoking crack cocaine while in office. Despite the scandal he retained a loyal base of supporters known as "Ford Nation." He died of a rare form of cancer shortly after leaving office as a city councillor.
• 1970 – 2016 Phife Dawg (1970-2016) Died 22 March 2016, aged 45 Born Malik Taylor, Phife Dawg was a founding member of the influential hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest. His lyrical interplay with fellow member Q-Tip helped define the group's jazz-influenced sound. He died of complications from diabetes.
• 2016 Iditarod 2016 Winner: Dallas Seavey — 8 days 11h Dallas Seavey won his fourth Iditarod in 2016, establishing himself alongside Rick Swenson and Susan Butcher as one of the all-time greats.
• 2016 Announces Retirement from the NFL Ends an 18-season professional career Manning announced his retirement from professional football at a press conference in Denver, closing out an 18-season career split between the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos. He reflected on his career achievements and thanked teammates, coaches, and fans across both organizations. The announcement came roughly a month after his Super Bowl 50 victory, allowing him to retire immediately following a championship.
• 2016 AlphaGo defeats world Go champion AI masters the most complex board game Google DeepMind's AlphaGo defeated world Go champion Lee Sedol 4-1 in March 2016. Go has more possible positions than atoms in the universe, and the victory was considered a major milestone in artificial intelligence.
• 2016 Obama Visits Cuba First sitting US president to visit in decades Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Cuba in nearly 90 years, meeting with Raul Castro in Havana. The visit followed the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2015. It marked a symbolic high point in the thaw between Washington and Havana.
• 2016 Brussels Bombings ISIL suicide attacks hit airport and metro Suicide bombers linked to ISIL attacked Brussels Airport and the Maalbeek metro station, killing 32 people and wounding hundreds. The attacks were carried out by the same cell responsible for the November 2015 Paris attacks. Belgium raised its terror threat to the highest level in response.
• 2016 Zootopia #1 film of 2016 — $1.02bn worldwide Disney animated film directed by Byron Howard. In a city of anthropomorphic animals, a naive rabbit joins forces with a cynical fox to solve a missing-mammals case.
• 2016 Myanmar NLD Government Takes Power Htin Kyaw sworn in as first civilian president in decades Htin Kyaw was sworn in as President of Myanmar, the country's first civilian leader in decades, with Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy taking power after its landslide election win. Suu Kyi, barred from the presidency by the constitution, took the newly created role of State Counsellor. The transition marked a major milestone in Myanmar's move away from military rule.